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All for Tennessee Official Week 2 SEC Power Rankings
Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers celebrates with Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) after he scores a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second quarter at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Vols had a nice jump in the official All for Tennessee SEC Power Rankings following Week Two of the 2016 college football season.
After a crazy first week of college football in the Southeastern Conference, the SEC Power Rankings had an inexplicable shake-up. It threw another curveball after the second week, despite the conference playing much easier teams.
A couple of teams struggled in games they should have won easily, a couple of teams had inexplicable losses, a couple had huge wins, and some showed dramatic improvement.
All of these things changed the pecking order of the toughest conference in college football going into Week Three.
Only one team remains in the same spot it was in last week in this rendition of the SEC Power Rankings. Of course, that one team is pretty obvious. But we’ll leave it to a little suspense.
Anyway, we have one more week of football left in which the majority of SEC games feature an SEC team against a non-conference opponent.
But there are four SEC games this week, so SEC football is really starting to take shape, which will throw these power rankings for a major loop. It starts with the first SEC game featuring two ranked opponents in the conference.
We are right on the edge of the heart of college football season now. And these rankings could do a complete 180 over each of the next few weeks.
Here are the official All for Tennessee SEC Power Rankings following Week Two of the 2016 college football season.
Sep 10, 2016; Gainesville, FL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats running back Jojo Kemp (3) is congratulated by running back Stanley Boom Williams (18) after he scored a touchdownF during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 45-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Kentucky Wildcats
0-2 (0-1)
Last week: Lost to Florida Gators 45-7Last rank: 13th
It’s official. The wheels have fallen off of the Kentucky Wildcats program under head coach Mark Stoops. And we’re going to reflect that in the SEC Power Rankings.
Clearly missing a bowl game had a major negative impact on them, and despite the talent, they have quit on themselves and their coach.
A bad loss to the Southern Miss Eagles last week was embarrassing enough.
However, a 45-7 loss to the Florida Gators last Saturday wasn’t nearly as close as it even looked, believe it or not. The quarterback play is awful for this team, as Drew Barker is clearly not Patrick Towles.
The defense is also a disaster. The only good news is they might have a chance to turn things around over the next two weeks with home games against the New Mexico State Aggies and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
However, both appear to be likely losses given the way they’ve played. And they have to face the Alabama Crimson Tide after that on the road. Their only chance at six wins is to win both of those games, beat the Vanderbilt Commodores, Mississippi State Bulldogs, and Austin Peay Governors at home, and steal one against the Missouri Tigers on the road. That seems extremely unlikely.
So this team right now is at the bottom of the SEC Power Rankings.
Sep 10, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Kyle Shurmur (14) in the huddle during the first half against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Vanderbilt Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Vanderbilt Commodores
1-1 (0-1)
Last week: Defeated Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 47-24Last rank: 12th
Derek Mason actually did a solid job keeping his team focused against MTSU after they choked away a heartbreaker last week against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
However, they had to drop a spot in the SEC Power Rankings because their win was far less impressive than another team’s win, and the pecking order of head to head match-ups hurt them.
That South Carolina loss was still devastating for Vanderbilt, a team that needed every close win it could get with a bowl game as the clear goal this year. The good news for the Commodores, though, is they are still continuing to finally establish their identity after three years.
Mason’s 3-4 defense is as good as ever, even if it had its troubles early against the Blue Raiders. And the rushing attack with Ralph Webb is finally where they have always wanted it to be.
He had over 200 yards on Saturday. Meanwhile, Kyle Shurmur remains serviceable enough.
However, the offense has yet to prove itself in big games. That has to happen if Vanderbilt is going to go bowling this year. And with upcoming road games against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, that’s a very tough task.
Mason needs to win both of those games, beat the Kentucky Wildcats on the road, and somehow needs to get a steal against either the Missouri or Auburn Tigers on the road. Doing all those things will get them to six wins with Tennessee State as a home game. But it’s a tall task.
Sep 10, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Perry Orth (10) signals to the sideline during the first quarter of the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
South Carolina Gamecocks
1-1 (1-1)
Last week: Lost to Mississippi State Bulldogs 27-14Last rank: 7th
Just when you thought the South Carolina Gamecocks were set for a surprisingly good season in Will Muschamp’s first year as head coach, they fell back down to Earth against the Mississippi State Bulldogs with a 27-14 loss. Their 13-10 Thursday night opening win over the Vanderbilt Commodores now just has us believing that Vanderbilt is still miles away from being good.
And South Carolina is another hideous Muschamp-coached offense.
So we had to drop them in this week’s SEC Power Rankings.
The Gamecocks were scoreless in the first half and fell behind 24-0. Only after that, when Mississippi State called off the dogs, did they start to generate any offense.
Oh, and Perry Orth had to be pulled as well for Brandon McIlwain. McIlwain provided a spark with two touchdowns in the second half to cut the loss to 27-14. However, the Gamecocks still managed only 243 yards of total offense.
And they got nothing going on the ground.
Maybe they will get something going with McIlwain if he remains the starter, and that does provide the team with a ray of hope.
But for now, we’re keeping them down here on this list. Upcoming games against the East Carolina Pirates and Kentucky Wildcats should have them in decent shape, though, as they get their first real test against the Texas A&M Aggies.
Meanwhile, the team they lost to got a big momentum boost.
Sep 10, 2016; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs players celebrate after the game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State won 27-14. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Mississippi State Bulldogs
1-1 (1-0)
Last week: Defeated South Carolina Gamecocks 27-14Last rank: 14th
A loss to the South Alabama Jaguars had all of us believing that the Mississippi State Bulldogs were utterly useless without Dak Prescott at quarterback.
However, Dan Mullen’s team has shown that youth may have been the only reason for that. Behind Nick Dylan Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs generated nearly 500 yards of offense against a Will Muschamp-coached South Carolina Gamecocks defense.
Dylan Fitzgerald had a historic game with 178 yards passing, 195 yards rushing, and two touchdowns. Fred Ross as a valuable, versatile weapon is a huge deal too.
Meanwhile, the defense played perfect in the first half before calling off the dogs. At this point, we are leaning toward the South Alabama loss being a major fluke.
However, the Bulldogs have to stay down here in the SEC Power Rankings for now because nothing is proven. After all, South Carolina only squeaked by Vanderbilt the week before. None of these teams are proven yet.
They have upcoming games against the LSU and Auburn Tigers, which are two of their next three games.
So at this point, we have to keep these them with South Carolina and Vanderbilt in the second to bottom tier of the SEC. Kentucky is by itself in the bottom tier of the SEC Power Rankings.
There is one more team in this group, and we go to them next.
Sep 10, 2016; Columbia, MO, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Barry Odom and players run on the field before the game against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Faurot Field. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Missouri Tigers
1-1 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Eastern Michigan Eagles 61-21Last rank: 11th
The Missouri Tigers suffered a tough loss against the in the opener against the West Virginia Mountaineers on the road. But with a new head coach and a new offense, that was to be expected to a certain degree.
It may have only been against the Eastern Michigan Eagles, but they redeemed themselves with a dominant 61-21 win in Week Two. Missouri’s lone loss is to a good team likely to reach a bowl game.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt lost to a team that lost to another team that lost to South Alabama. So for now, while all four of these teams are in the same second to bottom tier, Missouri right now has the best loss of anybody in there.
And they also have the most impressive blowout win. Therefore, we’ve got them at No. 10 in our SEC Power Rankings, one spot above where they were last week.
Barry Odom clearly has this team in the right direction, and Drew Lock showed how great he can be with 450 yards and five touchdowns.
Missouri gets a real test next as they get set to host the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. If the offense can keep this up, they may move up sooner rather than later. And with Delaware State up next, they’ll at least have two wins heading into their brutal October stretch against the LSU Tigers and Florida Gators.
Sep 10, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Les Miles and the Tigers take the field against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Tiger Stadium. LSU defeated Jacksonville State Gamecocks 34-13. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
LSU Tigers
1-1 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Jacksonville State Gamecocks 34-13Last rank: 6th
Last week, Les Miles’s team remained in that second tier of SEC teams that may have lost a game but actually lost to a good team. As a result, we dropped them only to No. 6 in the SEC Power Rankings on the belief that the Wisconsin Badgers are a good team.
That part is still true.
But the LSU Tigers had to take another significant drop this week after an ugly win against an FCS school.
LSU struggled to put away the Jacksonville State Gamecocks, being held scoreless in the first quarter with that atrocious offense Les Miles had put together. That alone caused us to drop them down to here.
However, there is a bit of good news. Miles finally pulled Brandon Harris because of his pathetic play, and while Danny Etling wasn’t anything special, he provided the offense with a spark.
Still, the quarterback controversy is a concern, and Leonard Fournette is nursing an injury. Therefore, this team is in a bit of trouble.
With the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Auburn and Missouri Tigers all up next, they’ll give us a nice preview of how good they can be. If they can get out of there undefeated before traveling to The Swamp to face the Florida Gators, Les Miles’s team could be back on track.
But if not, the wheels could come off, and Miles could be this year’s Mark Richt.
Sep 10, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) scores a touchdown against Nicholls State Colonels defensive back Corey Abraham (31) during the first quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Georgia Bulldogs
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Nicholls State Colonels 26-24Last rank: 3rd
The Georgia Bulldogs had all of their fans excited after a very solid Week One victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels, and North Carolina did its part to make Georgia look better with a dominating 48-23 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini in Week Two.
But a complete lack of focus dropped the Bulldogs five spots in this week’s SEC Power Rankings.
Georgia struggled to deal with the Nicholls State Colonels, another FCS program, and needed all four quarters to put them away.
Jacob Eason looks easily vulnerable if you get some pressure on him, as he was only 11 of 20 for 204 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
The offensive line failed to get a good push all game.
Meanwhile, the defense held the Colonels to 236 yards of total offense, but three turnovers in an ugly outing kept this team alive.
To be fair, Georgia did have a 26-14 lead in the fourth before Kirby Smart took his foot off the gas just a bit too early. As a result, dropping them to No. 8 may be a bit much.
But concerns about Smart’s coaching and Jim Chaney’s offensive playcalling, which was also an issue, have arisen. Nick Chubb is still this team’s one bright spot.
And with upcoming road trips against the Missouri Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels before hosting the Vols, we’re about to find out what this team is made of. Speaking of Ole Miss…
Sep 10, 2016; Oxford, MS, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Chad Kelly (10) throws the ball during the first half against the Wofford Terriers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Ole Miss Rebels
1-1 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Wofford Terriers 38-13Last rank: 5th
Everybody wanted to overreact to the Ole Miss Rebels blowing a huge lead against the Florida State Seminoles a week ago, but Florida State might be the most talented team in college football this year. Yes, they have more superstars than the Alabama Crimson Tide.
As a result, we kept them at No. 5 in the SEC Power Rankings last week.
However, we dropped them to No. 7 this week. The drop was no real indictment against them. Hugh Freeze’s team had a regular blowout victory over the Wofford Terriers.
It’s just that there was nothing special in that blowout win, and other teams that are undefeated did do enough to jump the Rebels.
We’ll get to them later.
Ole Miss is still playing with potential NCAA violations hanging over their heads, and they once again have a great first team of loaded talent but nothing else, which always costs them later in the year.
Still, they have the advantage of Chad Kelly at quarterback, and good quarterback play can make them a mismatch against almost any other team in the SEC.
Their real tests are about to come. Can they beat the Alabama Crimson Tide for a third straight year this week? What about when they host the Georgia Bulldogs and a dangerous Memphis Tigers team the next two weeks after that?
Oh, and they also have to travel to the Arkansas Razorbacks and LSU Tigers. The wheels could come off this team very fast. Or they could quickly move up these SEC Power Rankings. We’re going to find out this week what happens.
Sep 10, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn talks to his players during a time out in the first quarter against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Auburn Tigers
1-1 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Arkansas State Red Wolves 51-14Last rank: 4th
The Auburn Tigers looked better than the Ole Miss Rebels in both teams’ opening weekend losses against elite ACC opponents. And they looked better than the Rebels in both teams’ blowout wins in Week Two over lesser competition.
And you can make a legitimate argument that the Tigers played the tougher team both times.
As a result, Auburn drops two spots just like the Rebels due to other undefeated teams playing well enough to jump ahead of them. But Gus Malzahn’s team remains ahead of Ole Miss for now and still has the potential to be really good.
Sean White showed himself to be the perfect quarterback running Malzahn’s offense, throwing for 244 yards and running for another 60 with three passing touchdowns. Having two 100-yard rushers in Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson en route to 462 yards total on the ground signifies that the Tigers might be back.
They had over 700 yards of total offense.
Sure it was against Arkansas State, but after going toe-to-toe with last year’s near national champions, Auburn’s team has a lot to be proud of. The only reason they aren’t in the Top Three of these power rankings is that they technically do have a loss.
However, they can make up for that a lot over the next couple of weeks with games against the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers.
We are about to know exactly the type of season they will have going into October. And we’ll know how secure Malzahn’s seat is.
Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers celebrate after the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee won 45 to 24. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee Volunteers
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Virginia Tech Hokies 45-24Last rank: 9th
It took Vols fans one full game with overtime against the Appalachian State Mountaineers and then another quarter against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Battle at Bristol.
But three elite quarters after that reversed course, and instead of dropping to near the bottom of the SEC, they propelled themselves into the Top 5.
Virginia Tech is a dangerously good team with new head coach Justin Fuente, and their defense is elite. But after the first quarter, the Vols found holes in it all night with five touchdownsd from Joshua Dobbs, 99 yards rushing from Jalen Hurd, and impressive plays from Josh Malone, Jauan Jennings, and Alvin Kamara.
Butch Jones’s team is back on track with all the expectations it had at the beginning of the year. However, how long it lasts is still up for debate.
After all, Virginia Tech still out-gained the Vols and put up 400 yards against a defense coached by the incredibly hyped up Bob Shoop.
Tennessee only blew them out because of five Virginia Tech turnovers. So there’s still plenty of work to do.
The Vols should finally get a real breather against the Ohio Bobcats this Saturday, then the gauntlet begins with their four-game stretch against the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies, and Alabama Crimson Tide.
The make or break stretch of Tennessee’s entire season will be over in about five weeks.
Sep 10, 2016; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators celebrate after they beat the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 45-7. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Florida Gators
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Kentucky Wildcats 45-7Last rank: 8th
Like the Vols, the Florida Gators looked incredibly ugly in their first win, dropping them to No. 8 in our SEC Power Rankings.
However, they clearly regrouped against the Kentucky Wildcats in dominating fashion. Heck, they won 45-7 and blew them out worse than even the scoreboard indicated. That’s a pretty hard thing to do.
Jim McElwain’s offense is coming together under Luke Del Rio, and the Gators could look like the Steve Spurrier teams of the mid-1990s. They remain one spot ahead of the Vols because they looked better in their opener, despite still looking ugly, and they didn’t need a ton of breaks to blow out Kentucky.
Sure, Virginia Tech is a tougher team than Kentucky, but Florida’s play warrants lots of praise.
They get a final tune-up game this week against the North Texas Mean Green, and then the real schedule starts as they travel to Knoxville to face a Tennessee football team desperate to end their winning streak over them.
Following that, they face the Vanderbilt Commodores, LSU Tigers, Missouri Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Arkansas Razorbacks, and South Carolina Gamecocks. Simply put, they don’t get a breather until November.
They’ll show us everything we need to know about them over the next month and a half. But for now, they are No. 4 in our SEC Power Rankings, and as you can already tell, they are playing the best of any SEC East team at this point.
Sep 10, 2016; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks players celebrate after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs in double overtime at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Arkansas Razorbacks
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated TCU Horned Frogs 41-38 in OvertimeLast rank: 10th
Talk about night and day. Sure, the Tennessee Vols and Florida Gators did the same thing, and the Georgia Bulldogs did the opposite from Week One to Week Two. But none were as extreme as the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Bret Bielema’s team is finally where it needs to be.
After struggling to put away the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs with a 21-20 win, Arkansas fans were once again significantly concerned about this team. Then came the TCU Horned Frogs, and the Razorbacks scored a huge road upset to get back into the Top 25.
The efficiency of Austin Allen, the hard running of Raleigh Williams III, and the composure all played a role in the Razorbacks doing what they did. And with a quality win like that, they went from falling to No. 10 in last week’s SEC Power Rankings to jumping to No. 3 in this week’s power rankings.
Arkansas did not just show it can win playing Bielema’s conservative style. It showed it’s mental toughness by coming back after blowing a lead.
And it showed that it can also run hurry-up offenses, as the Razorbacks did that to tie the game when down by eight late.
Now, this team is in great position to keep moving up. Two of their next three games are against Alcorn State and Texas State at home, and sandwiched in between them is a huge match-up against the Texas A&M Aggies.
And speaking of the Aggies…
Sep 10, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Trevor Knight (8) sings the war hymn with teammates after a game against the Prairie View A&M Panthers at Kyle Field. The Aggies won 67-0. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Texas A&M Aggies
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Prairie View A&M Panthers 67-0Last rank: 3rd
Okay, so it’s now clear. To have his offense work to perfection against major competition, Kevin Sumlin needs a mobile quarterback.
Trevor Knight is in many ways a clone of Johnny Manziel, and he is torching people as a result.
Texas A&M already belonged up here after a great home victory over the UCLA Bruins last week. However, they were behind the Georgia Bulldogs since Kirby Smart’s team looked a bit more impressive against a solid team in the North Carolina Tar Heels.
This week, however, the Aggies get to move up because Georgia looked ugly against easy competition, and they dominated expectations against easy competition.
Knight threw for 344 yards and three touchdowns, and he ran for another 78 yards and one touchdown. He has found himself against Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Kendall Bussey and Keith Ford both ran the ball at will.
Christian Kirk is elite as well, and John Chavis finally has the defense where Sumlin has always wanted to have it.
A 67-0 victory is just amazing. They’ve done more than enough to get to this spot in the SEC Power Rankings.
Maybe it’s just another one of their hot starts, but until the Aggies prove us wrong, we’re going to have to keep them pretty high based on what we’ve seen. But they’re about to be tested immediately with a road game against the Auburn Tigers and then the Arkansas Razorbacks coming.
Sep 10, 2016; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban brings his team onto the field prior to warm ups at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama Crimson Tide
2-0 (0-0)
Last week: Defeated Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 38-10Last rank: 1st
Despite whatever Nick Saban says in his press conference, the Alabama Crimson Tide are still the top team in the SEC. And we’re going to show that in our SEC Power Rankings.
Sure, they weren’t as dominant against a dangerous Group of Five team in the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. But who cares?
They are still trying to get Jalen Hurts eased into the offense, and Saban is keeping him on his heels as a result. He’s clearly keeping Lane Kiffin on his heels as well, evidenced by how he chewed him out on Saturday.
You know you’re the top team when you can blow out the USC Trojans, have an ugly 38-10 win the next week after bringing your C game, and not be happy about it. Everybody knows the Tide were focused on the Ole Miss Rebels this week.
Until they do something more drastic, there’s no way they can fall out of the top spot in the SEC.
Alabama still has an Alabama defense, and they have tons of offensive weapons.
Meanwhile, they get their circled game of the season this week with a road trip to the Ole Miss Rebels. If they get past them, they’ll have Kent State and Kentucky at home next. Then they have a brutal three game stretch against the Arkansas Razorbacks, Tennessee Vols, Texas A&M Aggies, and LSU Tigers.
So to focus on the brutal stretch of their season, all they have to do is finally get over the Ole Miss hump. Doing that will only further cement their No. 1 spot in these SEC Power Rankings.
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